Full-time workers who are overweight and have other chronic
health conditions miss an estimated 450 million additional days
of work each year, resulting in
$153 billion in lost productivity, according to Gallup.

We looked at this staggering figure at the company level.

Let's say you're a boss choosing between one candidate who is fat
or suffering from chronic disease and one candidate who is
healthy

The unhealthy worker will miss an extra 20 days of work
each year on average.

Hiring the unhealthy worker will cost your company an
estimated $6,302 in lost productivity.

This cost estimate doesn't include health costs associated with
unhealthy workers. A study from Duke University found that the
fattest workers requested
seven times as much in medical claims as their fit
co-workers.

Based on these calculations, hiring the healthy worker is the
obvious choice.

It also becomes apparent that America may need stronger
legislation to protect again health discrimination.

Unfortunately the "healthy" workers are rare in America.
Eight-six percent of workers are either overweight or suffering
from chronic disease.